Government Regulations of the Media

Unlike most countries the United States Media is very open, and that is because of Amendment One of the Constitution. In most countries the media undergoes prior restraint or government censorship. One of the major issues that arise from the media is libel which means that a persons reputation or career was damaged by what was said, and if this occurs the victim cam sue on that account. The Supreme Court ruled that the press is not granted special access to information that is not available to the public. The federal government has more power over broadcast media then it does print media. The Federal Communications Commission(FCC) is in charge of over -the-air and cable television, AM and FM radio, telephones, satellites, telegraph, and CB radio. They require stations to operate in the public interest, and they grant licenses to all radio and television stations. Due to Amendment One FCC cannot censor the broadcasts, but they influence these stations to broadcast for the good of the people.